The CARIFTA Swimming Championships were held in Barbados April 16th to 19th, 2022. Team SVG had 11 swimmers. We appreciate the support of the National Lottery in helping to fund the swimmers’ participation at this premier Caribbean competition. We also express thanks to the SVG Olympic Committee for their continued support.
Attached are pictures of our National team including Coach Kyle Dougan. The team consisted of Kenale Alleyne, Matthew Ballah, Kevern Dasilva, Brandon George, Bryson George, Kennice Greene, Tia Gun-Munro, Jamie Joachim, Eltonique Leonard, Eltonte Leonard and Zariel Nelson.
Congratulations to our medal winners which were:
- Brandon George – Boys age 13 to 14 – 100 meter backstroke – Bronze medal (Brandon picture attached with Bronze medal)
- Kennice Greene – Girls 13 to 14 – 50 meter Freestyle – Bronze medal (Kennice picture attached with bronze and silver relay medal)
- Girls 13 to 14 Relay team – 4 x 50 meter Freestyle Relay – Silver medal. The team comprised of Kennice Greene, Kevern Dasilva, Zariel Nelson and Jamie Joachim. Relay team picture attached with Silver medals.
Kennice Greene was our most outstanding female swimmer. She qualified for five finals.
Brandon George was our most outstanding male swimmer. He qualified for four finals.
Our girls age 13 to 14 relay team were outstanding. Kennice Greene, Kevern Dasilva, Zariel Nelson and Jamie Joachim placed 2nd to Jamaica in the 4 x 50 meter freestyle relay by fractions of a second. They also placed 4th in the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay and 5th in the 4 x 100 meter Medley relay.
Ten of our eleven swimmers qualified and swam in the finals. Nine new SVG national records were set.
National Team Coach Kyle Dougan stated, “With continued commitment from all swimmers, we worked with each individual swimmer six weeks prior to the event on a tailored program unique to them. This enabled them to focus on their individual events and the results seen are a testament to the hard work, commitment and dedication that they put in. I am very pleased with the results and it is a great start to an exciting year of competition.”
This is the eighth consecutive CARIFTA swimming championships in which SVG swimmers have brought home medals. We hope to continue this streak next year. The future looks bright and particularly for Matthew Ballah, Eltonique Leonard, Eltonte Leonard and Zariel Nelson who all swam in the first year of their age groups.
We hope that our major financial supporters including the SVG Government through the National Lottery and the SVG Olympic Committee are pleased with the returns on their investments in swimming. We hope they will continue to support us.
Swimming has a busy time ahead with the upcoming Caribbean Games in Guadeloupe in June, the CCCAN Championships in July in Barbados; the Commonwealth Games in England in July/August, FINA Junior World Championships in Peru in August/September and the FINA World Short Course Championships in Japan in December.
For photos and results: